Domestic appliances are commonly displayed for sale on a showroom floor of the seller. This allows potential purchasers/users to browse the various appliances and see them first-hand. As appliances have become modernized they have come to incorporate more modern features like interactive user interfaces. These user interfaces incorporate, for example, LCD screens to display complex information or images and controllers with CPUs to drive the more complex content to the display.
In the retail showroom environment it is desirable for the appliance to be able to showcase the features that make the appliance attractive to the potential purchaser/user. Several demonstration modes are known and include active and passive features. Ebrom et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0109243, teaches a demonstration mode that includes a slideshow, which is a passive feature, and an active feature that can recognize the customer and tailor the demonstration to the customer.
Another important factor to be considered in the retail showroom environment is the limited amount of time a salesperson has with a customer. Therefore, the salesperson must be able to tailor the sales pitch to the customer and highlight certain features. An appliance having a screen capable of displaying information about the features of the appliance can be helpful to the salesperson. However, the appliance must be capable of interaction to showcase specific features as desired by the salesperson, while at the same time the appliance must able to passively showcase its features to generate interest in the customer without the salesperson present.
A need has developed to address one or more shortcomings of the prior art.